Control apparatus for railway switches



Nov. 26, 1935. w c, MCWHIRTER 2,022,359

CONTROL APPARATUS FOR RAILWAY SWITCHES Filed May 1, 1954 4 Sheets-Sheet1 Fig. 5

INVENTOR U/[l [(22122 C. M9 601562 501 HIS ATTORNEY Nov. 26, 1935. w. c.MCWHIRTER CONTROL APPARATUS FOR RAILWAY SWITCHES Filed May 1, 1954 4sheets-sheet 2 INVENTOR LUc'ZZz'am Ci-MQ whz'rzep BY $1M HIS A TTORNE YNov. '26, 1935. w, McWHI'RTER I 2,022,359

CONTROL APPARATUS FOR RAILWAY SWITCHES Filed May 1, 1934 4 Sheets-Sheet5- way I INVENTOR- wz'llz'am C. MQlU/zipter.

111s ATTORNEY Nov. 26, 1935. w. c. McWHlRTER 2,022,359

7 CONTROL APPARATUS FOR RAILWAY SWITCHES Filed May 1, 1954 r 4Sheets-Sheet 4 y Insulazion I INVENTOR [7 :9 9 William QMQlZ/lzzlme QJZWH13 A TTORNEY Patented Nov. 26, 1935 ATENT OFFICE coNTRoL APPARATUS FORRAILWAY SWITCHES 7 William C. McWhirter, Wilkinsburg, Pa., assignor toThe Union Switch & Signal Company, Swissvale, Pa., a corporation ofPennsylvania Application May 1, 1934, Serial No. 723,397 20 Claims. (01.246-158) My invention relates to control apparatus for railway switches,and has for an object the provision of a combined switch lock andcircuit controller mechanism which is' adapted for use in connectionwith any of the well-known forms of manually operable switch throwingdevices, and which when so used will insure the safety of trains orvehicles moving over the switch controlled by the associated switchthrowing device.

I will describe two forms of apparatus embodying my invention, and willthen point out the novel features thereof in claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Fig. 1 is a top plan view showing arailway switch Aprovided with a combined switch lock and circuitcontroller mechanism C embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is atop plan viewshowing, on an enlarged scale, the mechanism C illustrated in Fig. 1,the cover for the mechanism being removed to better illustrate theconstruction. Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2, but with certain ofthe parts shown in Fig. 2 broken away or removed to illustrate theconstruction of certain other parts which are not visible in Fig. 2.Fig. 4 is a sectional View taken on the line IV-IV of Fig. 2. Figs. 5and 6 are sectional views taken on the lines VV and VIVI, respectively,of Fig. 4. Fig. 7 is a top 'plan view showing another form of combinedswitch lock and circuit controller mechanism embodying my invention, thecover for the mechanism being removed to better illustrate theconstruction. Fig. 8 is a sectional view taken on the line VIIIVIII ofFig. '7. Fig. 9 is a sectional View taken on the line IX-IX of Fig. 8.

3 Similar reference characters refer to similar Associated with theswitch A is a switch oper-' ating device B comprising, in the well knownform 45 here shown, a switch operating crank 5 actuated by a manuallyoperable hand-throw lever B through the medium of suitable mechanism notshown. The crank it is connected with the head rod 3 by means of anoperating rod i, the parts 50 being so proportioned that the switch willbe moved to its normal position in which it is illustrated in thedrawings, or to its reverse position, according as the hand leveroccupies the position shown, or is rotated through an angle of substan-55 tially 180 from the position shown.

Also associated with the switch A is a combined switch lock and circuitcontroller mechanism C embodying my present invention, which mechanism Iwill now'describe. Referring now also to Figs. 2 to 5, inclusive, themechanism C in the 5 form here shown comprises a suitable casing I0closed at its upper end by a hinged cover l l. The casing Ill is securedto a base plate l which, in turn, is secured to a pair of the adjacentcrossties upon which the switch A is mounted, and formed 10 in the lowerpart of the casing adjacent the righthand side thereof, as viewed inFigs. 5 and 6, is a rectangular guideway I2 which slidably receives thefree end of the previously referred to lock rod L. The lock rod L is ofthe usual and well-known 15 construction, and comprises twolongitudinally adjustable bars l3 and I3 provided with aligned notches Mand I4. The lock rod L extends completely through the casing Ill, asshown in Figs.

1, 2 and 3, and the bars l3= and I3 are so ad- 20 justed that when theswitch is moved to its normal position by means of the hand-throw lever6 of the device B, the hand-throw lever will enter the notches I l andli and will thus lock the switchin its normal position. The lock rod is25 supported in the guideway l2 by a short bar I36 which is bolted tothe casing within a recess which receives the one end of the bar.

Located at the left-hand end of the casing H], as viewed in Figs. 2 and4, between a vertical 30 standard 22 which is formed on a tail-likeextension Ill of the casing l0, and two spaced vertical ribs 23 whichare cast on the sidewall of the casing opposite to' the standards 22, isa recess 2|. This recess is so disposed that when the hand lever 6enters it, the lever will slightly later enter the notches l4 and M inthe lock rod L. The recess is provided with reasonable workingclearance, and a boss I35, which serves as a guide for the lock rod, isarranged to engage 40 one side of the hand lever adjacent the notches inthe lock rod when the hand lever is in the recess, and it will be seen,therefore, that any strain which is transmitted to the hand lever by thelock rod will be resisted by the boss and will not be transmitted to thevertical ribs 23 or to the switch operating device 13, thus insuringthat the switch will be securely locked in its normal position by thelock rod.

A vertical slot 24 is provided in the end wall of the casing lobetweenthe Vertical ribs 23, and pivotally supported within this slot bymeans of a pivot pin 26 mounted in lugs 21 formed integrally with thecasing, is a lever latch 25. This lever latch is provided at its lowerend with an integral toe portion 28 and an integral heel portion 49, andat its upper end with an enlarged head 29 and with two integral lugs 33.The toe portion 28 projects into the recess 2| and cooperates with thehand-throw lever B in such manner that the hand-throw lever can not berotated to its full normal position to lock the switch in its normalposition without engaging the lever latch at the toe portion androtating the lever latch to its normal position in which it is shown infull lines in Fig. 4. The head 29 of the lever latch is formed with anintegral nose portion 39 and with a hole 3|. The nose portion at isrounded as shown, and is so dispose-d that when the lever latch isrotated to its normal position by the hand-throw lever, this noseportion will extend into the recess 2| and will overlie the hand-throwlever directly above this lever in such manner that this lever can notbe raised from its normal position to reverse the switch A withoutautomatically rotating the lever latch from its normal position to theposition in which it is shown in dot and dash lines in Fig. 4. The hole3| in the nose portion 30 of the lever latch is adapted to receive apadlock 36 to prevent unauthorized operation of the switch, and is sodisposed that when the padlock is in place in this hole, the lever latchcan not be rotated away from its normal position. It follows, therefore,that when the padlock 36 is placed in the hole 3|, the switch issecurely locked in its normal position.

For reasons which will be made clear hereinafter, it is desirable whenthe lever latch has been rotated to its dot and dash line position bymeans of the hand-throw lever to subsequently retain the lever latch inthe dot and dash line position until the hand-throw lever is restored toits normal position, and for this purpose a spring 3'1 is stretchedbetween a pin 32 mounted in the lugs 33, and a lug 34 formed in abracket 35 which extends transversely of the casing It].

A point detector rod D is secured at one end to the point 2 of theswitch A by means of a point bracket l1, and attached tothe free end ofthis point detector rod are two spaced parallel detector bars 38 and 38The detector bars 33 and 38* extend into the casing I and are maintainedin parallel spaced relation within the casing by means of guides 39formed on a guide bracket 38 secured to the right-hand side wall of thecasing, guides 88 formed on a boss 88 cast integrally with the bottomwall of the casing, and guides 35 formed on the previously referred tobracket 35. Located in the bars 38 and 38 directly opposite each otheradjacent the righthand ends of the bars, as viewed in Fig. 4, are

' two similar cam slots 40, and located in the bars 38 and 38' directlyopposite each other adjacent the left-hand ends of the bars are twosimilar cam slots 4|. Each cam slot 40 is of uniform width throughoutits length except for a portion 4% adjacent the right-hand end of theslot where the slot is widened at its upper edge to provide an offsetportion as shown. Each cam slot 4! is likewise of uniform widththroughout its length except for a portion 4| at the righthand end ofthis slot where the width of the slot is reduced.

Cooperating with the cam slots 4| in the de-- tector bars 38 are tworollers 45 mounted on a pin 48 secured to a lever 48 intermediate theends of the lever, and cooperating with the cam slots 40 are two rollers42 mounted on a pin 43 secured to a depending lu 41 formed on a lever 44adjacent one end of the lever. The lever 48 is disposed between the twobars 38 and 38 of the point detector rod D, and is pivotally connectedwith the heel portion 49 of the lever latch 25. The .lever 44 ispivotally mounted intermediate its ends on a rod 58 supported independing lugs 5| formed. on a bracket 52, and is connected at itsleft-hand end with the free end of the lever 48 by means of a pin andslot connection 53. The detector rod D is so adjusted and the parts areso proportioned that the rollers 42 carried by the lever 44- will enterthe wide portions 493 of the cam slots 45!, and the rollers 45 carriedby the lever 48 will enter the narrow portions 4| of the cam slots 4|,when and only when the switch A occupies its full normal position andthe switch point 2 is tightly closed against the associated fixed railI, and that the rollers 45 carried by the lever 48 will move into or outof the narrow portions M of the cam slots 4| at substantially the sametime that the rollers 42 move into or out of the wide portions 45 of thecam slots 40. The parts are further so proportioned that when therollers 45 occupy the narrow portions 4| of the cam slots 4|, if thelever latch 25 then occupies its normal position, as shown in full linesin Fig. 4, the lever 48 will be rotated to an extreme position in aclockwise direction and the lever 44 to an extreme position in acounter-clockwise direction, but that, if the lever latch occupies thedotted line position shown in Fig. 4, when the rollers 45 occupy thenarrow portions 4W of the cam slots 4|, the lever 48 will then berotated to an extreme position in a counter-clockwise direction and thelever 44 to an extreme position in a clockwise direction. The parts arestill further so proportioned that if the switch point 2 is moved awayfrom the position in which it tightly engages the fixed rail l while thelever latch occupies its normal position, due for example, to a traintrailing the switch, the resultant simultaneous movement of the rollers42 out of the wide portions of the cam slots 40 in the detector rod Dand the 45 rollers 45 out of the narrow portions 4W of the cam slots 4|,will cause the lever 44 to rotate from its counter-clockwise extremeposition as viewed in Fig. 4 to its clockwise extreme position.

The right-hand end of the lever 44, as viewed in Fig. 4, is providedwith. a vertical slot 54, and extending through this slot with someclearance is a rod mounted in depending lugs 56 formed on a contactoperating member 57. As best seen in Fig. 5, the contact operatingmember 51 is 55 guided to move vertically by means of studs 58 which aresecured at their lower ends to horizontal shelf-like portions it of thecasing It]. The studs 58 pass freely through holes 59 formed in thecontact operating member, and surround- 60 ing each stud between theassociated shelf-like portion l of the casing and the underside of thecontact operating member is a coil spring 6|], which coil springsconstantly bias the contact operating member to an upper position on thestuds.

Secured to the upper side of the contact operating member 5'! are twosuperposed insulating blocks 6| between which are clamped the free endsof a plurality of flexible contact fingers 62, here shown as four innumber. Each flexible contact finger 52 cooperates with an associatedfixed contact finger 53 to form a contact 52-83. Each contact finger 62and the associated contact finger 63 are clamped to the opposite sidesof an insulating block 64 by means of terminal posts 65 and 66 and theinsulating block 64, in turn, is bolted to the upper ends of two spaceduprights 61 formed on the bracket 52. Each terminal post 65 iselectrically connected with the associated contact finger 62 but isinsulated from the associated contact finger 63, as will be apparentfrom an inspection of the drawings, while each terminal post 66 isinsulated from the associated contact finger 62 but is electricallyconnected with the associated contact finger 63.

The parts are so proportioned that when the lever 44 occupies itscounter-clockwise extreme position, the contact operating member 51, inso far as its control by the lever 44 is concerned, is free to movebetween an upper extreme posi tion, in which the contacts 6263 are openand a lower extreme position in which the contacts 62-63 are closed butthat, when the lever 44 is rotated to its clockwise extreme position,the operating member 51 will then be moved downwardly by the lever 44,in opposition to the bias of the spring 60, to its lower extremeposition in which the contacts 62- 53 are closed.

Pivotally mounted on the rod 50 at one side of the lever 44 are twoother levers Ill and H (see Figs. 3, 4 and 6). The lever 10 is providedat one end with a slot 12 which is similar to the slot 54 in the lever44, and which slidably receives the rod 55 carried by the operatingmember 51 in the same manner that the slot 54 slidably receives the rod55. The other end of the lever 10 is formed with an integral latchingfinger 13, the tip 14 of which is bevelled as shown, to cooperate withtwo inclined notches l5 and Iii formed in theupper part of a verticallydisposed latch catch 11. The latch catch T5 is pivoted at its lower endon a pin 18 mounted in a lug it formed on the bracket 35, and isconstantly biased by means of a spring interposed between the lug 34 onthe bracket 35 and the latch catch, to the position in which the tip 14of the latching finger l3 enters one or the other of the notches l5or76. The spacing between the notches l5 and i6 is such, and the parts areso proportioned, that when the tip 14 of the latching finger is in .thenotch 15, the lever is will be rotated to a counter-clockwise extremeposition in which it is shown in the drawings, and in which the contactoperating member 51 is free to move between its upper and lower extremepositions due to the pin and slot connection between the lever Ill andthe operating member, but that, when the tip 44 is in the notch 16, thelever Hi will then be rotated to a clockwise extreme position in whichthe contact operating member will then be held in its lower position inwhich the contacts 6253 are closed.

A finger piece 8| is formed on the upper end of the latch catch '11, andthis finger piece serves as a means for gripping the latch catch toenable the latch catch to at times be rotated manually to the positionin which the latch catch is out of engagement with the latching finger,as will be explained more fully hereinafter.

A roller 82 (see Fig. l) is secured to the free end of the lever l i andthis roller cooperates with a notch 83 formed in the upper edge of thedetector bar 38* in such manner that the roller 82 will enter the notch33 when and only when the switch A occupies its full normal position andthe switch point 2 is tightly closed against the associated fixed railI. A selector lever 84 is pivoted at one end on the pin 32 carried bythe lever latch 25, and the free end of this selector lever is providedwith an enlarged head 85 which cooperates with the roller 82, and with aroller 86 which is secured to the lever 10 directly above the roller 82.The parts are so proportioned that when the lever latch 25 occupies itsnormal posi- 5 and the head 85 is between the rollers'82 and 86, 15 5the roller 82 will act through the medium of the head 85 and the roller85 to rotate the lever 10 to the position in which the tip M of thelatching finger l3 enters the notch 76 in the latch catch 11 but that,if the roller 82 is forced out of the notch 20 83 in the bar 38' ofdetector rod D when the tip 74 of the latching finger I3 is in thenotch. 15 in the latch catch ill and the head 85 of the selector leveris moved beyond the rollers 82 and 86, the lever M will then remain inthe position 25'- in which it is shown in Fig. 4.

As shown in the drawings, all parts are in their normal positions. Thatis to say, the hand lever 6 is rotated toits clockwise extreme positionas viewed from the left in Fig. 1, and is locked in 36 this extremeposition by means of the lever latch 25 and padlock 36, the switchoccupies its full normal position in which the switch point 2 is tightlyclosed against the associated fixed rail I,

the rollers 42 occupy the wide portions 40 of 35 the cam slots 40, therollers 45 occupy the narrow portions 4W of the cam slots 4|, the roller82 occupies the notch 33 in the bar 38 of detector rod D, the enlargedhead 85 of the selector lever 84 is disposed between the rollers 82 and40 85: the tip 14 of the latching finger l3 occupies the notch 75 in thelatch catch H, the contact operating member 5'! occupies its upperposition, and the contacts 62-63 controlled by the contact operatingmember 51 are all open. 45 I will now assume that with the parts in thepositions just described, it is desired to reverse the switch A. To dothis, the padlock 35 is first removed from the hole 3! in the leverlatch 25, and the hand lever 6 is then rotated from the 50 positionshown through an angle of in a counterclockwise direction as viewed fromthe left in Fig. l to its opposite extreme position. The initialmovement of the hand lever, that is to say,

the movement which takes place before any 55 movement of the switchpoints 2 and 2 occurs, rotates lever latch 25 in a clockwise directionas viewed in Fig. 4 from its full line position to its dotted lineposition, and withdraws the hand lever from engagement with the notchesI 4 and l4 60 in the lock rod L. The movement of the lever latch to itsdotted line position acts through the levers 42 and 48 to move thecontact operating member 5'! downwardly to the position in which thecontacts 6263 controlled thereby are closed, 65 while the withdrawal ofthe hand lever from engagement with the notches f l and [4 in the lockrod unlocks the switch, the parts being so proportioned that the switchwill not become fully unlocked until after the contacts 55253 have 70become closed. The movement of the lever latch to its dotted lineposition also moves the selector lever 84 inwardly to the position inwhich its enlarged head 85 is past the rollers 82 and 86 for a purposepresently to be made clear. After 75 the hand lever latch has been movedto its dotted line position in the manner just described, the spring 31temporarily holds the lever latch in its dotted line position, and itwill be seen, therefore, that the contacts 52-63 will'remain closedafter the hand lever has moved completely past the lever latch. As soonas the switch points start to move in response to the movement of thehand lever to its reverse position, the resultant movement of the pointdetector rod D, toward the right simultaneously forces the rollers 42out of the wide portions 40* of the cam slots 40 and into the narrowportions of these cam slots, and the rollers 45 out of the narrowportions 4| a of the cam slots 4! and into the wide portions of thesecam slots, thus causing the levers 42 and 48 to be moved to, and heldin, the relative positions in which the contacts 62-63 are positivelyheld closed, and hence insuring that the contacts 62-53 will remainclosed at all times except when the switch points occupy their fullnormal positions. The movement of the point detector rod D due to themovement of the switch points also causes roller 82 to be forced out ofthe notch 83 in the detector bar 38 of the detector rod D, but since thehead of the selector lever 84 is then moved past the rollers 82 and 85,the movement of the roller 82 out of the notch 83 has no effect on thelatching mechanism. It should be noted that when the contact operatingmember 5'! is moved to its lowermost position by means of the lever 44no force is then exerted on the lever l8 by the biasing springs 60acting through the contact operating member 51, to hold the lever Ii! inthe position in which the tip '14 of the latching finger 13 engages thenotch 15. The lever, however, is prevented from rotating away from theposition in which the tip 14 engages the notch 'l5 under these conditionby the cooperation between the bevel of the tip 74 and the inclinedsurface of the notch 15.

When the switch has been moved to its reverse position in the mannerjust described, and it is desired to restore the switch to its normalposition, the hand lever is restored to its normal position. Under theseconditions, the switch points will be moved to their full normalpositions before the hand lever starts to enter the recess 2 I, so thatwhen the lever does start to enter the recess 2|, the notches Mi and I4in the lock rod L will be restored to positions to receive the lever.Furthermore, as soon as the switch points reach their full normalpositions, the rollers 42 will enter the wide portions 40 of the camslots 40 and the rollers 45 will enter the narrow portions 4! a of thecam slots 4|. The contacts 6263, however, remain closed under theseconditions due to the bias of spring 31 on lever latch 25, until afterthe hand-throw lever has partly entered the notches M and I4 When thishappens, the hand-throw lever will engage the toe portion of the leverlatch and as a result during the balance of the stroke of the handlever, the lever latch will be rotated in response to the rotation ofthe hand lever, thus restoring the lever latch to its normal position.When the lever latch has been restored to its normal position, thecontacts 6253 will become open and the selector lever 84 will berestored to its normal position in which the enlarged head 85 isdisposed between the rollers 82 and 88. The padlock may now bereinserted into the hole 3| in the lever latch, and when this is doneall parts will then be restored to their normal positions in which theyare shown in the drawings.

I will now assume that the parts are in the positions in which they areshown in the drawings, and that a train trails the switch. Under theseconditions, the excessive forces which are exerted by the wheels of thetrain on the switch points causes the switch point 2 to move away fromthe associated fixed rail 1 a small amount even though the lock rod isthen securely looked in the normal position by means of the hand lever6, and this movement of the switch point 2 causes a correspondingmovement of point detector rod D toward the right, as viewed in Figs. 1and 4. The movement of the point detector rod D, in turn, forces rollers42 out of the wide portions 48 of the cam slots 40 into the narrowportions of these cam slots and also forces rollers 45 out of the narrowportions 4| of the cam slots 4! and into the wide portions of these camslots, thereby causing lever 44 to rotate in a clockwise direction andmove the contact operating member 51 downwardly to the position in whichthe contacts 6263 become closed. The movement of the point detector rodD also forces roller 82 out of the notch 83 in the detector bar 38 andsince the enlarged head 85 of the selector lever 84 is then locatedbetween the rollers.

82 and 86, the movement of the roller 82 out of the notch 83 actsthrough the selector lever and through roller 86 to rotate the lever 10to the position in which the tip 14 of the latching finger 13 enters thenotch 16 in the latch catch Tl. After the lever 16 has once been rotatedto the position in which the tip I4 of the latching finger enters thenotch '58, it is subsequently held in this position by the latch catch,and as was previously pointed out, when the lever occupies thisposition, the contact operating member 51 is held in its lowermostposition. As a result, if, after the train has trailed completelythrough the switch, the switch points spring back to their normalpositions and restore the point detector rod D to the position in whichthe rollers 42 enter the wide portions 40 of the cam slots 40, therollers 45 enter the narrow portions 4P of the cam slots 4! and theroller 82 enters the notch 83, the contact 5253 will subsequently remainclosed until the lever 10 is released. In order to release the lever 18,it is necessary for an authorized person to manually operate the latchcatch T1. When this has been done, the lever 10 is free to return to itsnormal position, and the springs 68 will therefore move the contactoperating member 51 up wardly to its upper position, thereby causing thecontacts 6263 to open and the lever 10 to return to its normal position.It is assumed that the authorized person who manually operates the latchcatch will inspect the switch points, and, if damaged, repair thembefore operating the latch catch to restore the contacts to their closedpositions.

It should be particularly pointed out that, after the switch has beenimproperly trailed and the lat-ch mechanism has become eifective to holdthe contacts 62E3 in their closed positions in the manner justdescribed, operation of the hand lever from its normal position, and theconsequent rotation of the lever latch 25 in a clockwise direction, hasno effect on the latch mechanism except to move the enlarged head 85 ofthe selector lever idly between the rollers 82 and 86 to the position inwhich it is beyond the rollers. The operation of the hand lever from itsnormal position under these conditions, however, 0perates the switch inthe same manner as if no switch lock and circuit controller mechanismwere provided.

As is well known, a combined switch lock and circuit controllermechanism of the type which I have just described is normally used' inconnection with a track circuit which extends in either direction fromthe associated switch, and the contacts of the mechanism are usuallyconnected with the track circuit in such manner that when these contactsare closed, the rails of the track circuit will be short-circuitedthrough these contacts to produce the same effect on the signals whichcontrol traffic over the switch as is produced when the rails of thetrack circuit are shunted by the wheels of a train. Normally, theelectromotive force of the source of potential which is connected acrossthe rails of the associated track circuit is small, and the currents dueto this electromotive force are all that the contacts of the circuitcontroller are required to carry,

with the result that low voltage contacts of the type previouslydescribed are entirely adequate under these conditions. However, it isat times desirable to use a combined lock and circuit controllermechanism of the type described on electrified roads on which the railsof the track circuit form the return path for the propulsion current,and it is obvious that under these conditions when the contacts of themechanism become closed and short-circuit the track circuit, if there isany difference in the rail resistance of the two rails of the trackcircuit, relatively large currents are likely to flow through thecontacts of the mechanism, necessitating the use of what 1 are commonlyterminated heavy duty circuit controller contacts. When this is thecase, the mechanism may be constructed in the manner shown in Figs. 7 to9, inclusive, this latter mechanism being designated in its entirety bythe reference character C for convenience in distinguishing it from themechanism C.

Referring now to Figs. 1-9, inclusive, all parts of the mechanism Cwhich cooperate with the lever B of the switch stand B to lock theswitch in its normal position are similar to the corresponding parts ofthe mechanism C shown in the preceding views, and these parts need not,therefore, be redescribed here. Furthermore, the point detector rod D isalso the same as was previously described with the exception that thebar 38* thereof is not provided with a notch 93 in its upper edge.However, the casing in which the mechanism is mounted, which casing Ihave here designated 90 has been changed somewhat, and pivotallysupported in the right-hand end of this casing by means of trunnionscrews 9I carried by a bracket 92 secured to the bottom Wall 90 and theend wall 90* of the casing 90, is a contact operating member 93comprising two spaced side members 93 and 93 (see Fig. 9) connected together at their upper and lower ends, respectively, by Webs 93 and 93 Ahorizontally disposed insulating block 9 3 is secured intermediate itsends to the forward side of the web 93 of the contact operating member93, and attached to this block adjacent its opposite ends are twoU-shaped switch elements 95 and 90. The legs 95 and 95 of the switchelements 95 act as switch blades and cooperate, respectively, withslotted switch jaws 91 and 91 of the usual type,

these jaws being secured to, but insulated from, the end wall 99 of thecasing 90. The legs 96 and 90 of the switch element 96 likewise act asswitch blades and cooperate, respectively, with slotted switch jaws 98and 98 similar to the switch jaws 91 and 91 and secured to, butinsulated from, the end wall 90 of the casing 90 in the same manner thatthe switch jaws 91 and 91 are secured to, but insulated from, the endwall of the casing 90. and 98 are connected by means of bolts 99 to abus bar I00, and the switch jaws 91 and 90 are connected by means ofbolts IOI to a bus bar I02. Both bus bars I99 and I02 and the associatedbolts are, of course, adequately in- 10 sulated from the casing 90 inaccordance with standard practice. The contact operating member 93 ismovable between an open position in which the switch blades are out ofengagement with the switch jaws as shown in the drawings, and a closedposition in which the switch blades are in engagement with the switchjaws, and it will be apparent that when the contact operating memberoccupies its open position, the bus bars I00 and I02 are disconnectedfrom each other, but that, when the contact operating member 93 occupiesits closed position, the bus bars are connected together through theswitch jaws 91 and 91 and the associated switch element 95, and alsothrough the switch jaws 98 and 98 and the associated switch element 96.

The contact operating member 93 is arranged to be moved between its openand closed positions through the medium of a lever I93 and a spring I04.The lever I03 is pivotally supported intermediate its ends between theside members 93 and 93 of the contact operating member 93 by means of apivot pin I30 mounted in two upstanding lugs 92 formed on the bracket92, and is provided at one end with a depending leg I03 having a roundedtoe I03 and at the other end with an upstanding lug I03. The spring I99is stretched between a pin I05 mounted in the lug I03 and a pin I06mounted in the side members 93 and 93 of the contact operating member,and this spring constantly biases the lever and contact operating memberto the relative positions in which the rounded toe I09 of the lever I03engages the web 93 of the contact operating member with suflicient forceso that under normal con- 4 ditions any rotation in a clockwisedirection of the lever I03 will cause corresponding rotation of thecontact operating member 93.

The lever I03 is operatively connected with the point detector rod D bymeans of two rollers I01 which are secured to the lever at the upper endof the depending leg I03 and which cooperate with the cam slots 40 inthe point detector rod. The point detector rod D is so adjusted that therollers I01 will enter the wide portionsdt of the cam slots 40 when andonly when the switch point 2 is tightly closed against the associatedfixed rail I, and the parts are so proportioned that when these rollersoccupy the wide portions 40 of the cam slots 40, the lever I03 is freeto rotate to an extreme position corresponding to the open position ofthe contact operating member 93, in which extreme position the rollersI01 engage the cam slots 40 at their upper edges, and an extremeposition corresponding to the closed position of the contact operatingmember 93 in which latter position the rollers I01 engage the cam slots40 at their lower edges. The parts are further so proportioned that whenthe rollers I01 are forced out of the wide portions 40 of the cam slots40 and into the narrow portions of these cam slots, the lever I03 willbe rotated to the position corresponding to the closed position of thecontact operating member.

The switch jaws 91 5 slots I 29 provided in the member H6.

The lever I63 is also pivotally attached at point I38 to one end of alever I09, the opposite end of which is connected by means of a pin andslot connection II I] with the heel portion 49 of the lever latch 25.Two rollers III are secured to the lever I09 intermediate the ends ofthis lever, and these rollers are disposed in, and cooperate with, thecam slots 4| of the point detector rod D in such manner that theserollers will enter the narrow portions M of the cam slots 4| when andonly when the switch point 2 is tightly closed against the associatedfixed rail I, and that, the movement of the rollers into and out of thenarrow portions of the associated cam slots will occur substantiallysimultaneously with the movement of the rollers I 01 into and out of thewide portions 39 of the cam slots 49. The parts are so proportioned thatwhen the rollers II I occupy the narrow portions M of the cam slots 4!,the lever I93 will be rotated to the position corresponding to the openposition of the contact operating member 93 or to the positioncorresponding to the closed position of the contact operating memberaccording as the lever latch then occupies the position in which it isshown in full lines in Fig. 8 or the position in which it is shown indot and dash lines in Fig. 8.

The web 93 of the contact operating member 93 is provided with anintegral rearwardly extending projection II 3 having a rounded uppersurface II 3 and having formed therein at the rear of the roundedsurface I I3 a notch H3 A latch arm II i, one end of which is bifurcatedas shown in Fig. 7, is pivotally supported at its bifurcated end bymeans of trunnion screws I I5 adjustably mounted in the side Walls ofthe casing 99, and this latch arm extends toward the contact operatingmember 93 and cooperates at its free end with the rounded surface H3 ofthe projection I l3 and with the notch H3", in such manner that when thecontact operating member occupies its open position, the latch arm willrest on the rounded surface but that, when the contact operating memberis moved to its closed position, the arm will drop into the notch Hil bygravity and will hold the contact operating member in its closedposition, unless the arm is prevented from dropping by means controlledby the lever latch 25, which means I will now describe.

As here shown, these means comprise a member H5 provided at its rear endwith a centrally located hole I I6 which slidably receives one end of arod Ill, the other end of which is attached to the upper end of thelever latch 25 by means of a screw jaw I I8 and a pivot pin I I8**. Thedistance that the member II6 can slide on the rod II! is limited by apin II9 which is secured intermediate its ends to the rod, and the endsof which project into aligned elongated The pin II9 also acts to preventthe member from turning on the rod. A compressed coil spring I2I ismounted on the rod I I1 between the member I I6 and two adjusting nutsI22, and this spring constantly biases the member to the position inwhich the pin II9 engages the slots I20 at their left-hand ends asviewed in Fig. 8. The member II 6 is disposed between the bifurcationsof the latch arm H4 and carries at its forward end a pair of spacedrollers I23. These rollers ride on a guide E24 formed on a bracket I25and cooperate with cam surfaces I26 provided on the underside of thelatch arm II4 adjacent the point where the bifurcations of the latch armjoin the body of the latch arm. The parts are so proportioned that whenthe lever latch 25 occupies its normal position, the rollers I23 willclear the left-hand end of the cam surfaces I26,

but that, when the latch arm is moved away 5 from its normal position,the rollers I23 will then move into engagement with the cam surfaces.The parts are further so proportioned that when the rollers I23 areclear of the left-hand end of the cam surfaces I26, the latch arm H4 isfree to drop to the position in which it enters the notch II3 in theprojection II3 of the contact operating member, but that, when therollers are in engagement with the cam surfaces I 26, the latch arm willbe raised to a position where it is just clear of the rounded surface II3 of the projection I I3. The nuts I22 are so adjusted that the springI2I will be just stiif enough to raise the latch arm against its ownweight.

A stud I21 projects from the side of the latch arm II4 a little to theright of the cam surfaces I 26, and this stud cooperates with a hook I28which is pivotally supported at its lower end on a pin I 29 mounted inthe bracket I 25. The hook I28 is biased in a counter-clockwisedirection by means of a spring I39, and the parts are so proportionedthat when the latch arm is out of engagement with the notch 3 in theprojection I I3 on the contact operating member 93, the end of the hook,which end it will be noted has a ver- 30 tical surface, will engage thestud I21 at its right-hand side as viewed in Fig. 7, but that, When thelatch arm moves to the position in which it enters the notch I53 thehook will move over the stud and securely hold the latch arm inengagement with the notch II3 As shown in the drawings, the switch A islocked in its normal position and the lever latch 25 and point detectorrod D both occupy their normal positions. Under these conditions, due tothe previously described proportioning of the parts, the contactoperating member 93 is held in its open position, and the latch arm H4rests on the rounded surface I I3? of the projection I I3.

In explaining the operation of the apparatus as a whole, I will firstassume that the switch A is moved from its normal position to itsreverse position by means of the hand lever 6. Under these conditions,the initial movement of the hand lever, that is to say, the movementwhich takes place before the switch points start to move, rotates leverlatch 25 in a clockwise direction from its full line position to itsdotted line position, and this rotation of the lever latch, in turn,acts through the levers I39 and IE3 to rotate the contact operatingmember 93 from its open position to its closed position. This rotationof the lever latch 25 also causes the rollers I23 to move intoengagement with the cam surfaces I26 on the latch arm I I4, so that whenthe contact operating member reaches its closed position, the latch armwill be prevented from dropping to the position in which it enters thenotch II3 in the projection II 3, which latter position I will term thelatching position of the 5 latch arm. As soon as the initial movement ofthe hand lever 5 has been completed, and the switch points have startedto move in response to further movement of the hand lever, the resultantmovement of point detector rod D causes rollers I01 carried by lever I53to move out of the wide portions of the cam slots 49 and into the narrowportions of these cam slots, and also causes rollers III carried bylever I99 to simultaneously move out of the narrow portions of the camslots 4| and into the wide portions of these cam slots, thereby causingthe contact operating member to be positively held in its closedposition and the lever latch to be held in its dotted line positionduring the balance of the movement of the switch.

If, after the switch has been moved to its reverse position, the handlever is restored to its normal position, the parts will be restored totheir normal positions. The movement of the parts under these conditionsis the reverse of that just described, and will be understood withoutfurther description.

I will now assume that the parts are in their normal positions in whichthey are shown in the drawings and that a train trails the switch. Underthese conditions, the extreme forces which are exerted on the switchpoints will cause the point detector rod D to be moved toward the righta certain amount in spite of the fact that the lock rod is then securelylocked by means of the hand lever, and this movement of the pointdetector rod will force the rollers III! at least part way out of thewide portions 49 of the cam slots 40, and the rollers III at least partway out of the narrow portions of the cam slots 4|, thereby causing thelever I03 to be rotated in a clockwise direction and rotate the contactoperating member 93 from its open to its closed position. When thecontact operating member is moved to its closed position under theseconditions, the rollers I23 are out of engagement with the cam surfacesI26 since the lever latch 25 then occupies its normal position,

' i and the latch arm H4 therefore now drops by gravity to its latchingposition in which it enters the notch H3 After the latch arm has oncebeen rotated to its latching position, the hook I28, due to the bias ofthe spring I30, moves to the position in which its upper end overliesthe stud I21, thus securely locking the latch arm in its latchingposition. As was previously pointed out, when the latch arm occupies itslatching position, the contact operating member 93 is held in its closedposition, and as a result, if after the train has completely trailed theswitch, the switch points spring back to their normal positions, andthereby restore the point detector rod D to the position in which therollers I91 enter the wide portions IIl of the cam slots id and therollers III enter the narrow portions M of the cam s ots II, the contactoperating member will remain in its closed position until the latch armH4 is restored to its normal position. To do this, it is necessary foran authorized person to move the hook I28 to the position in which it isout of engagement with the stud I21, and then manually raise the latcharm; and it is assumed that the authorized person who does this willinspect the switch points, and, if they are damaged, repair them beforehe raises the latch arm. It should be noted that if the point detectorrod D returns to its normal position, after the train has trailed theswitch in the manner just described, the spring I94 will yield and willallow the levers I09 and N53 to move in response to the movement of thepoint detector rod without causing the operating member 93 to move. Whenthe latch arm H4 is restored to its normal position, the spring I54restores the contact operating member 93 to its open position, and allparts are then restored to their normal positions in which they areshown in the drawings.

It should be pointed out that when the switch has been trailed and thelatch arm has latched the contact operating member in its closedposition in the manner just described, operation of the switch will notunlatch the contact oper ating member for the reason thatwhen therollers I23 move against the inclined face of the cam 5 surfaces I26under these conditions, the hook I28 will hold the latch arm in itslatching position. As a result the member I ll will move toward theright in the jaw H6 and compress the spring I2 I, but this movement willhave no effect on the m remainder of the apparatus.

Although I have herein shown and described only two forms of controlapparatus for railway switches embodying my invention, it is understoodthat various changes and modifications may 15 be made therein within thescope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit and scopeof my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is: 20 1. Incombination, a railway switch, a manually operable lever movable betweennormal and re- 7 verse positions for moving the switch between itsnormal and reverse positions, means including a lever latch for lockingsaid lever in its normal 25 extreme position, a contact, meanscontrolled by said lever latch for operating said contact when saidlever is moved away from its normal position, other means controlled bythe switch points for at times operating said contact in response 30 tomovement of the switch points away from their normal positions, andmeans controlled by said lever latch for latching said contact in itsoperated position if the switch points ,are moved away from their normalpositions when the lever 00- cupies its normal position.

2. In combination, a railway switch, a manually operable lever movablebetween normal and reverse positions for moving the switch between itsnormal and reverse positions, means including a lever latch for lockingsaid lever in its normal extreme position, a contact, means controlledby said lever latch for operating said contact when said lever is movedaway from its normal position, other means controlled by the switchpoints for holding said contact in its operated position until the leveris restored to its normal position when the switch points are moved awayfrom their normal positions by said lever, and means effective if theswitch points are moved away from their normal positions by a trailingtrain for moving said contact to its operated position and forsubsequently latching said contact in its operated position until saidlast mentioned means is operated to unlatch said contact.

3. In combination, a railway switch, a manually operable lever movablebetween normal and reverse positions for moving the switch between itsnormal and reverse positions, means including a lever latch for lockingsaid lever in its normal position, a point detector rod secured to oneof said switch points to move therewith, a contact, means controlledjointly by said lever latch and said point detector rod for operatingsaid contact prior to the movement of the switch points when the switchpoints are moved away from their normal positions by said lever latchand for subsequently maintaining said contact in its operated positionuntil the switch points and the d lever are both restored to theirnormal positions, and means controlled by said lever latch and saidpoint detector rod for moving said contact to its operated position andfor subsequently latching it in its operated position when.the switch 7points are moved away from their normal positions by a train trailingthe switch.

4. In combination, a railway switch, a manually operable lever movablebetween normal and reverse positions for moving the switch between itsnormal and reverse positions, means including a lever latch for lockingsaid lever in its normal position, a point detector rod secured to oneof said switch points to move therewith, a contact, means controlledjointly by said lever latch and said point detector rod for operatingsaid contact prior to the movement of the switch points when the switchpoints are moved away from their normal positions by said lever latchand for subsequently maintaining said contact in its operated positionuntil the switch points and the lever are both restored to their normalpositions, means controlled by said point detector rod for moving saidcontact to its operated position when a train trails the switch, andmeans controlled by said point detector rod and said lever latch forlatching said contact in its operated position when it is moved to itsoperated position by a train trailing the switch.

5. In combination, a railway switch, a lock rod secured to themovablerails of said switch to move therewith, a manually operable leverfor moving the switch between its two extreme positions arranged toengage said lock rod when said switch occupies one extreme position tolock said switch in said one extreme position, a lever latch for lockingsaid lever in the extreme position corresponding to said one extremeposition of the switch, a point detector rod secured to the movablerails of the switch to move therewith, a contact, means controlled bysaid lever latch and said point detector rod for operating said contactwhenever said switch is moved away from said one extreme position, andmeans controlled by said lever latch and said point detector rod forlatching said contact in its operated position if and only if the switchis moved away from its one extreme position by a train trailing theswitch.

6. In combination, a railway switch, a lock rod secured to the movablerails of said switch to move therewith, a manually operable lever formoving the switch between its two extreme positions arranged to engagesaid lock rod when said switch occupies one extreme position to locksaid switch in said one extreme position, a lever latch for locking saidlever in the extreme position corresponding to said one extreme positionof the switch, a point detector rod secured to the movable rails of theswitch to move therewith, a contact, means controlled by said leverlatch and said point detector rod for operating said contact Wheneversaid switch is moved away from said one extreme position, and meanscontrolled by said lever latch and said point detector rod for latchingsaid contact in its operated position until said last-mentioned means ismanually operated to restore said contact to its normal position if andonly if the switch is moved away from its one extreme position by atrain trailing the switch. 7

'7. In combination, a railway switch, a lock rod secured to the movablerails of said switch to move therewith, a manually operable levermovable between normal and reverse positions for moving said switchbetween its normal and reverse positions and arranged to engage saidlock rod when said switch and said lever both occupy their normalpositions to lock the switch in its normal position, a lever latch forlatching said lever in its normal position arranged to be moved to afirst or a second position according as said lever occupies its normalposition or is moved away from its normal position, a point detector rodsecured to one of the switch points for movement therewith, a contact,means controlled by said lever latch for operating said contact whensaid lever latch is moved from its first position to its secondposition, means controlled by said point detector rod for operating saidcontact when said one switch point is moved away from the position whichit occupies when the switch occupies its normal position, and latchmechanism effective if said one switch point is moved while said leverlatch occupies its first position for latching said contact in itsoperated position.

8. In combination, a railway switch, a lock rod secured to the movablerails of said switch to move therewith, a manually operable leverformoving said switch between its two extreme positions so arranged thatwhen said switch occupies one extreme position said lever will engagesaid lock rod and lock said switch in said one extreme position, a leverlatch cooperating with said lever in such manner that saidlever latchwill be moved by said lever to a first position when said lever is movedto the position corresponding to said one extreme position of the switchand to a second position when said lever is moved away from the positioncorresponding to said one extreme position, a point detector rod securedto the switch point which is closed in said one extreme position of theswitch for movement therewith, a contact biased to an open position,means controlled by said lever latch for closing said contact when saidlever latch is moved from its first position to its second position,means controlled by said point detector rod for closing said contactwhen said point detector rod is moved away from the position which itnormally occupies when said switch occupies said one extreme position,and means for latching said contact in its closed position if said pointdetector rod is moved away from the position which it occupies when saidswitch occupies said one extreme position while said lever latchoccupies its first position.

9. In combination, a railway switch, a lock rod secured to the movablerails of said switch to move therewith, a manually operable levermovable between normal and reverse positions for moving the switchbetween its normal and reverse positions, said lever being arranged toengage said lock rod when said lever occupies its normal position tolock the switch in its normal position, a lever latch cooperating withsaid lever in such manner that said lever latch will be moved by saidlever to a first or a second position according as said lever is movedto or away from its normal position, a point detector rod secured to theswitch points to move therewith and provided with cam slots, a contact,means controlled by said lever latch and the cam slots in said detectorrod for closing said contact when the switch points occupy their fullnormal positions and said lever latch is moved to its second position orwhen said lever latch occupies its first position and the switch pointsare moved away from their normal positions, and means for latching saidcontact in its closed position if said contact is moved to its closedposition while the lever latch occupies its first position.

10. In combination, a railway switch, a lock rod secured to the movablerails of said switch to move therewith, a manually operable levermovable between normal and reverse pdsitions for moving the switchbetween its normal and reverse positions, said lever being arranged toengage said lock rod when said lever occupies its normal position tolock the switch in its normal position, a lever latch cooperating withsaid lever in such manner that said lever latch will be moved by saidlever to a first or a second position according as said lever is movedto or away from its normal position, a point detector rod secured to theswitch points to move therewith and provided with cam slots, a contact,means controlled by said lever latch and the cam slots in said detectorrod for closing said contact when the switch points occupy their fullnormal positions and said lever latch is moved to its second position orwhen said lever latch occupies its first position and the switch pointsare moved away from their normal positions and for holding said contactin its closed position when the lever latch occupies its second positionand the switch points are moved away from their full normal positions,and means for latching said contact in its closed position if it ismoved to its closed position while the lever latch occupies its firstposition.

11. In combination, a railway switch, a lock rod secured to the movablerails of said switch to move therewith, a manually operable levermovable between normal and reverse positions for moving the switchbetween its normal and reverse positions, said lever being arranged toengage said lock rod when said lever occupies its normal position tolock the switch in its normal position, a lever latch cooperating withsaid lever in such manner that said lever latch will be moved by saidlever to a first or a second position according as said lever is movedto or away from its normal position, a point detector rod secured to theswitch points to move therewith and provided with cam slots and with anotch, a contact, means controlled by said lever latch and the cam slotsin said detector rod for closing said contact when the switch pointsoccupy their full normal positions and said lever latch is moved to itssecond position or when said lever latch occupies its first position andthe switch points are moved away from their normal positions, and meanscontrolled by said notch and said lever latch for latching said contactin its closed position if said contact is moved to its closed positionwhile the lever latch occupies its first position.

12. In combination, a railway switch, a lock rod secured to the movablerails of said switch to move therewith, a manually operable levermovable between normal and reverse positions for moving the switchbetween its normal and reverse positions, said lever being arranged toengage said lock rod when said lever occupies its normal position tolock the switch in its normal position, a lever latch cooperating withsaid lever in such manner that said lever latch will be moved by saidlever to a first or a second position according as said lever is movedto or away from its normal position, a contact operating member biasedto an upper position and movable to a lower position, contactscontrolled by said contact operating member and arranged to be open orclosed according as said contact member occupies its upper or its lowerposition, a point detector rod secured to the switch points to movetherewith and provided with two sets of com slots and with a notch, afirst lever pivotally supported intermediate its ends and connected atone end by means of a pin and slot connection with said contactoperating member, a second lever pivotally connected at one end to saidlever latch and at the other end to the free end of said first lever,rollers secured to said first lever between its pivotal support and theend which is connected with said contact operating member and arrangedto cooperate with the one set of cam slots in said point detector rod,other rollers 10 secured to said second lever intermediate its ends andarranged to cooperate with the other set of cam slots in said pointdetector rod, the parts being so proportioned that when said lever latchoccupies its first position and said switch points occupy their fullnormal position said levers will be rotated to positions in which saidcontact operating member is free to move to its upper position under theaction of its bias, but that, when the switch points are moved away fromtheir full normal positions while said lever latch occupies its normalposition, or when said lever latch is moved to its second position whilethe switch points occupy their full normal positions, said levers willbe rotated to positions in which said contact operating member is movedto its lower position, and means controlled by said notch and said leverlatch for latching said contact operating member in its lower positionif said switch points are moved away from their normal positions whilesaid lever latch occupies its normal position.

13. In combination, a railway switch, a lock rod secured to the movablerails of said switch to move therewith, a manually operable levermovable between normal and reverse positions for moving the switchbetween its normal and reverse positions, said lever being arranged toengage said lock rod when said lever occupies its normal position tolock the switch in its normal position, a lever latch cooperating withsaid lever in such manner that said lever latch will be moved by saidlever to a first or a second position according as said lever is movedto or away from its normal position, a contact operating member biasedto an upper position and movable to a lower position, contactscontrolled by said contact operating members and arranged to be open orclosed according as said contact member occupies its upper or its lowerposition, a point detector rod secured to the switch points to movetherewith and provided with cam slots, means controlled by said leverlatch and the cam slots in said detector rod for moving said contactoperating member to its lower position if the lever latch is moved toits second position while the switch points occupy their full normalpositions or if the switch points are moved away from their normalpositions while the lever latch occupies its first position and forsubsequently holding said contact operating member in its lower positionas long as the switch points remain away from their normal positions, orthe lever latch remains in its second position or both, and means forlatching said contact operating member in its lower position if it ismoved to its lower position while the lever latch occupies its firstposition.

14. In combination, a railway switch, a lock rod secured to the movablerails of said switch to move therewith, a manually operable levermovable between normal and reverse positions for moving the switchbetween its normal and reverse positions, said lever being arranged toengage said lock rod when said lever occupies its normal position tolock the switch in its normal position, a lever latch cooperating withsaid lever in such manner that said lever latch will be moved by saidever to a first or a second position according as said lever is moved toor away from its normal position, a contact operating member biased toan upper position and movable to a lower position, contacts controlledby said contact operating member and arranged to be open or closedaccording as said contact member occupies its upper or its lowerposition, a point detector rod secured to the switch points to movetherewith and provided with cam slots and with a notch, means controlledby said lever latch and the cam slots in said detector rod for movingsaid contact operating member to its lower position if the lever latchis moved'to its second position while theswitch points occupy their fullnormal position or if the switch points are moved away from their normalpositions whilethe lever latch occuies its first position and forsubsequently holding said contact operating memberin its lower positionas long as the switch points remain away from their normal positions orthe lever latch remains in its second position or both, and meanscontrolled by said lever latch and the notch in said point detector rodforlatching said contact operating member in its lower position if it ismoved to its lower position while the lever latch occupies its firstposition.

15. Incombination, a railway switch, a lock rod secured to the movablerails of said switch to move therewith, a manually operable levermovable between normal, and reverse positions for -moving theswitchbetween its normal and reverse positions, said lever beingarranged to engage said lock rod when said lever occupies its normalposition to lockthe switch in its normal position, a leverlatch'cooperating with said lever in such manner that said lever latchwill be moved by said lever to a first or a second position according assaid lever is moved to or away from its normal position,a contactoperating member biased -to.-,an upperposition: and movable to a lowerposition, contacts controlled by said contact operating members andarrangedto be open or closed accordingas said contact :member occupiesits upper or-its lower position, a point detector rod securedv to theswitch points to move therewith and provided with cam slots and with anotch, means controlled by said lever latch and the cam slots in saiddetector rod for moving said contact operating member to its lowerposition if the lever latch is moved to its second position while theswitch points occupy their full normal positions or if the switch pointsare moved away from their normal positions while the lever latchoccupies its first position and for subsequently holding said contactoperating member in its .lower position as long as the switch pointsremain away from their normal positions or the lever latch remains inits second position or both, a first lever pivotally supportedintermediate its ends and connected at one end with said contactoperating member by means of a pin and slot connection, a latchingfinger formed on the other end of said first lever, a latch catchprovided with a first and a second notch adapted to selectively receivethe free end of said latching finger, means for biasing said latch catchto a position to which one or the otherof the notchesin. said latchcatch-will receive the free end of said: latching .7

finger; the parts being so. proportioned that when the free ,end of thelatching finger is inthe first notch in said latch, catch, saidcontactoperating.

apes-35hr;

member will be free to'move between its upperand lower positions, butthat, when the free end of said latching finger is in the second notchin said latch catch, said contact operating member will be held in itslower position, a second leverto said first lever between said latchingfinger and the pivotal support for said first lever directly above theroller secured to said second lever, and a selector lever secured tosaid lever latch and provided with an enlarged head which is disposedbetween said two rollers when and only when said lever latch occupiesits first position, the parts being so proportioned that if the rollersecured to said second lever is forced out of the notch in said detectorred when said enlarged head isdisposed between said two rollers saidfirst lever will be rotated to the position in which the latching fingerenters the second notch in the latch catch but that if the rollersecured to said second lever is forced out of the notch in said detectorrod said rollers the movement of such roller out of the notch will haveno effect on said first lever.

16. In combination, a railway switch, a lock rod secured to the movablerails of said switch to move therewith, a manually operable. levermovable between normal and reverse positions for moving the switchbetween its normal and reverse positions, said lever being arranged toengage said lock rod when said lever occupies its normal position tolock the switch in its normal position, a lever latch cooperating withsaid lever in such manner that said lever latch will be moved by saidlever to a first or ,a second position according as said lever is movedto or away from its normal position, a pivoted contact operating membermovable between open and closed positions, contacts controlled by saidcontact operating member arranged to be open or closed according as saidcontact operating member occupies its open or closed position, a pointdetector rod, means controlled jointly by said lever latch and saidpoint detector rod for biasing said contact operating member to itsnormal position when said lever latch occupies its first position andthe switch points occupy their full normal r positions and for movingsaid contact operating member to its closed positions when the leverlatch is moved to its second position-or when the" switch points aremoved away from their normal positions, latching means biased to alatching r position and effective when in its latching position forlatching said contact operating member in its closed position; and meanscontrolled by 17. In combination, a railway switch, a lock 1 rod securedto the movable rails of said switch. to move therewith, a manuallyoperable lever movable between normal and reverselpositions for movingthe switchbetween its normal and-'reverse positions, said lever beingarranged to engage said lock rod when said lever occupies its normalposition to lock the switch in its normalposition, a lever latchcooperating with said lever in such 'manner that said lever'latchwill'be moved by said lever .to a first or a second position 1 accordingas said lever is moved to or away from its normal position, a pivotedcontact operating member movable between open and closed positions, acontact controlled by said contact operating member arranged to be openor closed according as said contact operating member occupies its openor closed position, a point detector rod, means controlled jointly bysaid lever latch and said point detector rod for biasing said contactoperating member to its open position when said lever latch occupies itsfirst position and the switch points occupy their full normal positionsand for moving said contact operating member to its closed position whenthe lever latch is moved to its second position or when the switchpoints are moved away from their normal positions, a latching projectionsecured to said contact operating member and provided with a notch, alatch arm adapted to enter said notch when said contact operating memberoccupies its closed position to latch said contact operating member inits closed position, said latch arm being biased to its latchingposition, and means controlled by said lever latch for preventing saidlatch arm from moving to its latching position except when said leverlatch occupies its first position.

18. In combination, a railway switch, a lock rod secured to the movablerails of said switch to move therewith, a manually operable levermovable between normal and reverse positions for moving the switchbetween its normal and reverse positions, said lever being arranged toengage said lock rod when said lever occupies its normal position tolock the switch in its normal position, a lever latch cooperating withsaid lever in such manner that said lever latch will be moved by saidlever to a first or a second position according as said lever is movedto or away from its normal position a pivoted contact operating membermovable between open and closed positions, a contact controlled by saidcontact operating member arranged to be open or closed according as saidcontact operating member occupies its open or closed position, alatching projection secured to said contact operating member andprovided with a notch, a latch arm adapted ing said latch arm frommoving to its latching position except when. said lever latch occupiesits first position.

19. In combination, a railway switch, a manually operable lever movablebetween normal and reverse positions for moving said. switch between itsnormal and reverse positions, means including a lever latch for lockingsaid lever in its normal extreme position, a contact, means controlledby said lever latch for operating said contact when said lever is movedaway from its normal position, other means controlled by the switchpoints for at times operating said contact in response to movement ofthe switch points away from their normal positions, and means forlatching said contact in its operated position if the switch points aremoved away from their normal positions when the lever occupies itsnormal position.

20. In combination, a railway switch, a manually operable lever movablebetween normal and reverse positions for moving said switch between itsnormal and reverse positions, means including a lever latch for lockingsaid lever in its normal extreme position, a contact, means con-'-trolled by said lever latch for operating said contact when said leveris moved away from its normal position, other means controlled by theswitch points for at times opera-ting said contact in response tomovement of the switch points away from their normal positions, andmeans effective upon the movementof the switch points away from theirnormal positions while the lever occupies its normal position forlatching said contact.

WILLIAM C. MCWHIRTER.

